A Glaive's Tale
by Arcturasia
Summary: "This is what a hundred years of peace looks like." I thought the peace inside the walls would continue, and I did everything I could to protect it. But the Empire took everything from me and now I'm going to take everything from them. Original Character.
1. Chapter 0- Prologue

**A/N: I remember Final Fantasy XIII-Versus being announce when I was back in high school. Although I hadn't played many of the Final Fantasy series I recall really wanting Versus and waiting for it. But, Versus never came out and I eventually forgot about the game and went on with my life that was until FFXV. I bought it a month after its release and still play it everyday now because of how mesmerized I am by the world, its characters and the potential hidden stories. The game really got my gears turning and after thinking about it for weeks I decided to write an OC fanfiction.**

 **This is the first fanfiction I wrote in 10 years, and my first OC fanfiction ever. So, I have to say I am really rusty and a little overwhelmed at my self for attempting to do this.**

 **I really hope you enjoy having a glimpse at my imagination, my insecurities and how I view the world of Eos.**

 **Disclaimers: All Final Fantasy characters, settings, etc. that appear in this story are the property of Square Enix. My original characters and my imagination are the only things I own.**

* * *

 **Final Fantasy XV: A Glaive's Tale**

For centuries the sacred magic of the divine crystal blessed our world and its people. But in time the promise of its power brought war to our lands.

Lucis, a peaceful kingdom of great magic kept safe by the power of the crystal.

And Niflheim, a military empire of vast machinery made strong by the might of its magitek.

Long has war raged on between the two…

As years passed, Niflheim marched on nearby nations driven by its unsurpassed technology.

My country was one of them.

Kharlan, a small nation located in between Lucis and Tenebrae was taken over by Niflheim and its technology, leaving many villagers dead, homeless or prisoners of war.

Scorching fire and destruction were the only things I remember from that night. The stench of burnt bodies and the coppery smell of blood filled the air as people were shot down one by one.

My parents, long dead at the start of the invasion, were nothing but cold corpses sprawled on the floor.

My brother Kaiten led me by my hand through the hell and to my freedom. But in exchange he gave up his, fighting off the soldiers while I made my escape. That was the last I saw of him.

All that at the age of fourteen.

Those who managed to make it out of Kharlan made their way towards Lucis, where we were accepted as refugees. I was grateful for their kindness.

Orphaned, lost and broken— war left nothing in my heart but hatred and vengeance. To destroy Niflheim and make them suffer became my only goal in life.

I joined the military a year after, one of the only jobs offered to us refugees, and slowly started to rebuild my life.

Six years have passed since the destruction of my home country, and peace has now returned for the time being. Now I stand as a proud member of the Kingsglaive, soldiers handpicked by none other than King Regis himself to protect the citizens of Lucis, and aid in the front-line of war against Niflheim.

My name is Velvet Angelina Flare, and this is my story.


	2. Chapter 1- The Keeper of Peace

**A/N: First chapter up! I usually hand write my stories then type it out so it takes a while to post. There isn't too much going on in this chapter, just Velvet enjoying her peaceful life when there is no war going on. I will be adding a few Glaive OCs to the story, but will try to keep it to a minimum to avoid confusion. Hope you enjoy!**

 **Disclaimers: All Final Fantasy characters, settings, etc. that appear in this story are the property of Square Enix. My original characters and my imagination are the only things I own.**

* * *

 **The Keeper of Peace**

 _Da-da-da-da daa da da-da-daa!_

"Urgh..." I groan as I try to go back to sleep by putting a pillow over my head. The sound of my phone bounces off the walls of the small apartment and straight to my ears, giving me no place to escape. My ringtone, Victory Fanfare, continues to try my patience until I finally give up and reach for the phone while still rubbing the sleep from my eyes.

I look down at the screen of my phone to check the caller ID.

 _Reina_. Of course, who else would call me on my day off?

I swipe the screen to answer the call making sure to express my annoyance of being disrupted from my beauty sleep.

"What is it this time?" I skip the pleasantries with her and get straight to the point. Raking my dark brown locks out of my face with my fingers, I turn my face towards my desk to check the time and realize it's actually not that early. The girl on the other side of the phone giggles at my sleepy voice.

"Don't tell me you _just_ woke up? It nine already!"

I shake my head and roll my eyes hearing her overly cheerful voice, though there is no way she would be able see it.

"Reina it's not like I get days off all the time you know. Is sleeping in for just one day too much to ask for?" I whine. The life of a Kingsglaive member was not easy. You had wars to fight and peace to keep.

I gingerly push myself off the bed and pace my room as I continue to make conversation with the other.

"Actually, I called you to ask you for a small favor Vel." And there she goes with my nickname. The name she uses when she needs something. I stop pacing at her words and flop back down onto the bed and groan, knowing what she is asking for.

"I am NOT taking you patrol shift _again!_ Reina, you can't keep doing this. If the captain catches you you're going to get into some shit." I sigh.

"Please, just this once?" she pleads. Being one of her best friends I can already imagine her puppy-eyes as she continues to make excuses.

"Maxim got these tickets to the musical that starts in 2 hours and I really want to go! Plus, it's not like you have a better way to spend your day off."

I wasn't going to deny that last part in her argument. Most of my days off were spent training, lazing around in my bed or taking long meaningless walks around the city to kill time. Taking Reina's patrolling duty would be a day better spent.

I huff and pinch the bridge of my nose knowing my defeat. "Fine. This is the _last_ time I'm doing this for you." I knew this wasn't going to be true, I said the same thing last time too.

"You're the best! I'll make it up to you, promise!" She can't hide her excitement. "Patrol starts in an hour. You switch out with Nyx, I'm sure he'll keep it a secret from the captain too." Knowing Nyx he probably would.

"In an hour? Sounds good. Tell Maxim I said hi and have fun." I reply. After receiving my goodbye from Reina I hang up and toss the phone on to my messy bed, then head to the bathroom to get ready.

It only takes a few steps to reach the bathroom. It's cramped with a shower stall, toilet and a sink, barely leaving room to fit two people standing.

I swiftly brush my teeth and wash my face, pat it dry with a towel hanging next to the sink, then toss the said towel straight into the washing machine near the entrance of the bathroom. Next, I grab a comb to brush the knots out of my straight shoulder length hair, and I'm out of the bathroom in ten minutes, just like that.

There isn't much time to pamper myself so I decide to go with some basic makeup that takes five minutes before reaching into my closet for my uniform— the shorter version of the male's Glaive jacket accompanied by a leather suit for the female party. Zipped up, I reach for my wrist watch communicator and wear it before checking the time.

Twenty minutes to spare.

I make my way out of the front door with my keys and Glaive ID card and head to duty.

The walk to the HQ is not far, ten minutes to be precise. Along the way I spot a familiar mullet head returning from his shift, so naturally I jog to catch up.

"Hey Nyx!" At my approaching footsteps and voice he stops in his tracks and turns to face me. At my relatively small height at a meter and sixty I have to look up to meet his eyes.

"Morning sleepy head." He greets me with a playful tone. "As I recall you're off duty today, meaning you're taking Reina's shift again?" he gives a crooked smile while shaking head. It's no surprise he's already deduced it from just my appearance at the HQ, after all this wasn't the first time or second he's seen me take my friend's shift.

I return his smile with a playful one. "You know Reina, she's not the best with following orders. Hmm… Kind of sounds like you _Hero_. Figures why you both got reassigned to patrol duties." I tease.

He glares at me for a second then gave a playful scowl before walking up and ruffling my hair with his rough hand.

"Hey, what gives?" I swat his hand away and pat my hair back to its former glory. I look up to glare at him only to see his smug smile of triumph at messing my hair up. He turns on his heels and begins to walk towards the HQ again before stopping to look at me again over his shoulder.

"You better report to your patrol soon Miss _Reina_." I didn't miss the sarcastic note on Reina's name, from that I knew he was going to keep this patrol duty a secret from the captain. He waved behind his back and continued on his way.

Inside the HQ I quickly walk into the locker room and head towards my locker. All Glaives were assigned their own locker only accessible with their personal Glaive ID and were allowed to use them as they pleased. I grab my ID from my pocket and swipe the card into the card reader. The locker door clicks open with an audible _beep_.

I rummage inside the locker in an attempt to find the item I came for. Inside hangs my spare Glaive jacket and suit, just in case of emergencies or accidents that can happen on the field or training. The provided Kukri blade hang from the holder belt next to the spare clothes.

"Ah!" I spot Reina's spare ID card in the shelf of my locker and reach inside to grab it. She had given it to me months back when she was first assigned to patrol duties convincing me to keep it in case of patrol 'emergencies'. I place her card on the opposite pocket of where I keep my ID just to make sure I don't get them mixed up.

Before closing the door I look to the right side of the inner door where an old family photo is stuck. The color had started to fade about 2 years back, and with the wear and tears it's hard to see the details of the picture anymore. I gingerly place a hand on the photo and briefly close my eyes.

"I'm off…" I softly mutter to no one in particular before taking my hand off the photo and reaching for my Kukri belt and strapping it is around my waist. I take one last longing glance at the photo before closing the locker door and heading off.

At the gate of the Citadel I walk into the patrol station and swipe Reina's ID into a card reader. A confirmation screen appears and is followed by a map that details the patrol route. The two gate guards inside the station don't even suspect that I'm not Reina, the flashy Glaive emblem on my shoulder is enough to convince them. Having checked in with Reina's card and having confirmed her patrol route I head out for my two hour shift.

I wasn't complaining about taking Reina's shift. Going on patrols was one of the most relaxing things about working as a Glaive, almost to a point where most of the members found it too boring. Inside the Crown City of Insomnia was peaceful, the new wall created by King Regis made sure of that. They say nothing has every breached the walls in a hundred years. And although the people were aware of the war they still went on with their daily lives like nothing was a threat.

I made my way from the gate of the Citadel to the heart of the peaceful city. Cars drove past me and people walked down the roads to their destination, occasionally looking up at the news being flashed on the giant screen on buildings. Looking down at my watch I realize it is time to move on to the next location of the patrol and move on.

* * *

Some time passed and only thirty minutes remain of the shift, and I was starting get bored. So, instead of paying attention to the road my eyes began to wander to the shop displays. I continued to walk down the sidewalk with my eyes plastered on some of the pretty accessories until my face came into contact with a rather soft surface.

Half expecting the person I ran into to be annoyed with me I look forward to apologize only to see a crowd of people circling in front of a shop. Confused I try to tiptoe to check out the scene. Turns out I'm too small, but I hear two men talking it out with each other.

"Sir, we just need to check your bag and confirm a few things." One of the men say.

Ah...Theft? I quickly get wind of the situation and push past the crowd of people so I can get a better view.

"Like I said I'm a hunter and I just came to check out a few weapons I didn't take anything. Or are you accusing me?" The other man replied almost too smoothly. He tries to push past the attendant to leave only to be stopped by the shoulder.

I sigh. Just when I thought this day was getting exciting it just ended up being a petty argument over theft accusation. I was tempted to walk past them and ignore the situation, it didn't seem like a job for a Kingsglaive but I stood watch to kill some time and relieve some of my boredom.

"I'm sorry sir if you are unwilling to cooperate I will have to call the guards and thing will get more complicated." The clerk said sternly and held his hand out to receive the bag. Soon I zone out of their argument and look around the crowd.

Standing in front of the crowd I notice a tall man wearing a Crowns Guard uniform on the opposite side of the circle and I could tell he noticed me too. The guard turns to face his right and bends down to converse with a petite girl standing next to him. Then with a stern look he paces forward in what seems like an attempt to solve the situation. I just stand watching slightly curious at how things are going to turn out. The two men are still arguing over the problem and don't even notice the giant approaching them.

"Excuse me Crowns Guard here. I am going to have to inspect that bag sir." And with that he just yanks the bag out of the hunter's hands. At the sudden force the bag rips and the contents fall, seeing the items I immediately tense up.

Remote bombs, knives and a new pistol the man seems to have stolen from the shop just now. This was no ordinary theft, no one within Insomnia would ever be armed this heavily, meaning this hunter was possibly preparing for terrorist activity. I'm shocked at how quickly the situation escalated from a possible theft case to a possible terrorist attack.

Some people in the crowd scream and start backing away or running. Amidst the chaos the Crowns Guard remains calm and looks towards my direction. We briefly make eye contact, and with that I can tell what he is asking me to do. I turn my head away and move a hand to my ear where a communication earphone is plugged in.

"We have a possible terrorist situation here at NW-32-41, requesting back up." I speak quietly into the mic so that people don't really notice.

Almost immediately I get a reply. "Affirmative, location has been confirmed. Guards from the nearest patrol station will be over soon, in the meantime try to keep the situation under control."

Well that's done. At the sound of screaming I look up to assess the situation and freeze at how much worse it had gotten in the short period of time I had relayed a message to the guard station.

Now the possible-terrorist had a blade in his hand and a hostage in his grasp. Upon closer inspection it was the girl that had been conversing with the big guy earlier.

Shit. I quickly relay the hostage situation back to the guard station without taking my eyes off the scene. "The situation just got worse, there is a hostage involved. Hurry!"

The guard member froze at the sight of the hostage who now had the knife pressed to her neck. Most people who had been watching the situation scattered screaming or shouting, while others seemed to make a phone call to the police.

"Let her go, this is between you and me!" the tall guy yells towards the threat. I just stand and consider the situation, watching for the perfect moment to catch the armed man off-guard or at least an opening to let the hostage escape.

"Come near me and she dies!" the man threatens. But, in that moment he takes the knife away from the girl's neck and points it towards the opposing man.

This is my chance!

I grab one of the three push knives strapped to my belt and toss it at the ground in between where the terrorist and the hostage stands. Instantly my body crystallizes into icy blue shards and in fractions of a second I warp myself to the location of the push knife I had just tossed, leaving a shell like outer layer where I had previously been standing.

"What?!" The hunter is too shocked at my sudden appearance to act accordingly. That is a mistake on his part. From my ducked position I swing my right leg around in a circular motion knocking him off his feet. He lets go of the girl who quickly tries get to where the guard is standing.

"You're under arr…" I don't have time to finish my sentence. I see him prop himself up to his side and the knife he was holding leaves his hand in a trajectory straight for the girl.

My reflex acts quicker than my mind and my hand flies forward without thinking. Time slows down in that moment, the knife flying and my hand reaching out to block its path. There is a shocked look in both the hostage girl and her companions face as they see the events unfolding. Then, I feel sharp pain in the palm of my hand, it takes everything for me to not scream in that instant. Time speeds up again, and this time it's me kneeling on the floor clutching my right hand with a knife lodged into it. Luckily, I had been wearing the standard protective gloves given to the soldiers so the knife hadn't passed through my palm but I could definitely feel the metal tip lodged in it.

I mentally slap myself. I let my guard down and now I was paying the price. I look up from the kneeling stance only to see the tall Crowns guard member rush at the terrorist and pin him to the floor. I guess it's expected since the guy is no longer armed and without a hostage.

I let out a sigh. Case closed.

It's only a few minutes before guards from the nearest patrol station rush to the scene with cars to arrest the man. A medical staff is also on hand and they quickly check to make sure the hostage girl uninjured.

I look down at my palm with the knife still sticking out from it. The pain had dulled down to a throbbing pain, but it was still enough to bother me. The knife sticking out from my hand almost looked comical, as if I was wearing a bad Halloween costume. I chuckled at my own humor until a voice brought me back to reality.

"Don't really know what's so funny about a knife lodged in your hand but you should get that looked at." I turn my head sideways to meet a pair of amber eyes. I notice a scar that visibly runs down the left side of his face from above his eyebrows to the end of his cheek. The guy had let his beard grow is a kept fashion, and his lips currently were turned down in a stern frown.

Suddenly aware of how much I am staring at him, I pull my eyes away from his face and back to my palm. I just let out a barely audible "I will." Before heading towards the medical team. Hopefully he didn't notice me gawking at him, not to mention quite rude of me to stare at his scar.

Speaking of scars, I was pretty sure the knife was going to leave one. I was tempted to pull it out by myself but I didn't want to risk it just in case it was close to a nerve. Suddenly my mind rears back to Reina and just how much she owes me for this mess.

The medical team is done checking on the hostage girl and they turn their attention towards me and are immediately shocked by the knife standing erect against my palm. I just rub the back of my neck and sheepishly smile seeing their expressions. Yup, definitely going to need stitches for this one. They usher me into the car so they can drive me back to HQ to have the medics patch me up.

I make myself comfortable in the car, it's quite roomy with only me in the back seat. That is, until the door opens again and two more passengers walk in, the guy with the scar and his petite companion. The girl sits in between us and buckles up, then turns to look at me.

"They offered to drive us to the Citadel, I'm Iris by the way." She says with a smile. The guy has his arms crossed and just looks at me expectantly. I just stare, slightly taken aback by their sudden appearance and not knowing if I should introduce myself as Reina or my real name.

Well, guess this is going to be an awkward ride back to the Citadel.

* * *

 **Hmm... I wonder who that big guy can be? _Haha_**

 **Comments and suggestions are always welcome! If you have any requests please feel free to PM me :)**

 **Next chapter: the awkward ride back to the Citadel and making new friends.**


	3. Chapter 2- The Amicitia Family

**A/N: Second Chapter Yay! I think I'll be entering the actual Kingsglaive movie story line around chapter three or four, no later than that. Between job hunting, part time teaching and learning a new language it's kind of hard to make time to write to be honest... But it's really been helping me relax so that's a good thing I guess. I hope you all enjoy the chapter!**

 **Disclaimers: All Final Fantasy characters, settings, etc. that appear in this story are the property of Square Enix. My original characters and my imagination are the only things I own.**

* * *

 **The Amicitia Family**

Iris looked back at me with a smile, still waiting for me to introduce myself and I had no idea what to do. I hadn't planned on introducing myself to anyone today let alone socialize. If it was just Iris I would have told her my name, but with her companion Crowns Guard guy and the drivers possibly listening in on our conversation I wasn't sure what to do. After a lot of thinking in the awkward silence I decided to play it safe.

"Er… Names Reina, nice to meet you." I tried to pull on my best smile and look friendly. In all honesty I felt bad lying to her face but I didn't want to risk it biting me in the ass later.

At my friendly introduction Iris' smile became wider. "Reina, nice to meet you!" Then she turns to look at the big guy, but when he doesn't say anything she elbows him.

"Come on, it's rude to not introduce yourself!" she said sternly.

The guy merely sighs at her but a smile forms probably from her childishness.

"Names Gladiolus, but most just call me Gladio. I guess I didn't thank you earlier for saving my trouble magnet sister." He says and reaches a hand out to pat Iris on the head.

Sister? Probably younger sister judging by how he is so protective of her. While in the train of thought I look between the two. They don't really look too much alike. Gladio is big and buff while Iris is petit and almost frail looking. If he hadn't said the word sister I would have assumed he was her bodyguard or something along those lines.

Noticing my staring Iris giggles. "Yeah, most people react the same way you do. We don't really look too much alike." At her words Gladio chuckles and color rushes to my face as I realize how I had been staring at them so obviously.

"Sorry, didn't mean to be rude or anything…" I apologized quietly as I looked away from them and silence takes over.

Seeing the two, the big overprotective brother and sweet younger sister, made me warm inside but at the same time a tad bit sad. It reminded me of what Kaiten and I could have had if things never turned out the way it did.

Argh! No, I can't change anything in the past I need to pull myself together and focus on now. If my mind starts to slip into the negative loop there is no end to how depressing my thoughts will become.

"So—" I snap out of my thoughts hearing Gladio's deep voice, "A glaive, huh?" He breaks the quiet.

I chuckled slightly at him stating the obvious, after all my uniform and the emblem on my shoulder said it all.

"So, a Crowns Guard, huh?" I reply instead of giving him a straight answer. At my response he arches a brow and Iris bursts out into giggles, probably amused at how awkward we all were.

Just as she starts to settle down again the car starts to slow down and comes to a stop. Finally, my ticket out of this uncomfortable situation. I quickly open the door and we all file out.

"It was nice meeting you both. I guess I'll be seeing you?" I say in best friendly tone, but it's mostly just to be polite.

"Yeah, and thank you again for saving me." Iris replies with a warm smile before turning to her brother. "Gladdy let' get going, I'm sure father is waiting for us." And spins to face the other way and skips ahead.

Gladdy? I laugh inwardly making sure to keep a straight face for his sake.

Gladio rolls his eyes and turns his head back to me. "I guess we will probably run into each other sometime soon since we both work here. Maybe we can train together some time, it would be interesting to spar with a glaive." With that he turns around and walks after his younger sibling.

After making sure they were far away enough my smirk at 'Gladdy's'nickname becomes visible on my face, not very fitting for a guy that buff and tall. But soon that smirk turns into a sincere smile, although the meeting with them was short and a bit awkward I could tell they were both very nice people. Speaking of which, Iris said something about their father, did he work in the Citadel too?

Hmm. I bring my right hand up to the back of my neck to scratch it, only to be met with cold metal. I bring my hand back down and sigh seeing the knife still sticking out from it.

Well, guess it's time to hit the infirmary.

* * *

"There you go, all done." The nurse said securing the bandage in place.

The infirmary was relatively empty, and only housed a few people who were either injured during their mission or training. When I first walked in the nurses immediately asked me what had happened. I naturally told them it was a training accident just in case the word got out to the captain that _Reina_ got injured during patrol. They swiftly removed the blade from my hand and stitched the wound after cleaning it. Luckily only about a centimeter of the blade had been lodged in because of the thick glove I was wearing.

I look down at my watch, it reads two o'clock. I get up from the examination bed and thank the team before walking out of the infirmary.

First things first, I need to return my equipment to my locker as well as Reina's ID card. I walk down the hall that leads to the locker room, contemplating on how I should use the remainder of my day. I didn't have breakfast or lunch yet because of the weird time I woke up and the patrol time, so late lunch sounded good.

"Hey, looks like we meet again" I hear a deep voice from in front of me. I look up to find Gladio and Iris walking towards me. Yay, more awkward mingling.

"Haha, yeah guess we meet again. It's been like what, thirty minutes?" I reply with a smile before stopping in front of them.

"Heh, yeah. Sorry about your hand by the way." Iris' eyes darted towards my bandaged palm for a second before she continued to speak. "We finished what we came here to do, so we were actually headed out to eat, it would be great if you could join us, our treat."

"Think of it as a thank you." Her brother added at the end, probably thinking I would turn down the offer.

Well since I was going out to eat anyways guess that works for me, and free food. But of course I couldn't just voice out my unfiltered thoughts without sounding a bit rude, so naturally I word things in a nicer manner.

"Oh, I was just about to head out to eat too. I have to leave my blades in the locker so how about I meet you two at the front gate?" I say pointing to the blades strapped around my waist.

"Okay! We'll see you by the gate!" Iris said cheerfully at my confirmation and quickly dragged her brother with her.

Not wanting them to wait for me too long I quickly jog towards the lockers to dump my stuff.

* * *

At the gate it's relatively easy to spot them.

"Sorry for the wait." I speak up as I jog towards them. They both greet me at the same time and we all make our way to a restaurant.

For most of the meal Iris is bubbling with questions, especially about what it's like to be a Glaive. Gladio teases her half the time about how she is too scrawny to get a job that requires fighting. It's cute to watch, and makes me feel at ease.

I had never been the one to make friends easily so it comes as a surprise to me at how comfortable I feel around them. It was easy to talk to them even if I had just met them today.

After the meal I tell them I have to meet up with a friend at the Citadel, and the two being ever so polite decide to walk me since their house was also on the way. That's when a small question popped into my head. It was really expensive to live near the Citadel, usually only the counselors or the officials lived there (mostly because most of them were married to their work). But other than a passing thought I didn't question them.

Once we arrived at the gate I turned to face them to say thank you only to be disrupted before I even got the word out.

"Gladio, Iris!" I hear a man's voice call out to the two siblings.

They both seem to instantly recognize the voice and turn their heads towards the direction of the new character.

"Father!" Iris replies in a joyous voice.

Father? I can't see him because Gladio is blocking my view so I tilt me head to see around him. I instantly freeze in shock.

 _Clarus Amicitia_?!

Although a salute it not required, as a member of the King's army it is still required that we show respect to our higher ups. So, I quickly readjust myself with my hand behind my back standing up straight.

My head is swarming with questions, but also concern for exactly how much they told Clarus about the terrorist incident and about my involvement in it.

Iris goes off to her father and starts chatting away happily and Gladio turns to listen in on their conversation. I just stand squirming there unsure of what to do.

That's when Gladio starts to talk about how we all just grabbed some late lunch, not forgetting to say Reina's name while pointing to me behind his back. I close my eyes and mutter a _shit_ to myself. Clarus knew most of the Glaives by name and face, there was no way he wasn't going to notice something fishy about how I had just lied to both of his children. I look past the three and weigh the option of just bolting past them, but that seemed a bit silly. Luckily Clarus hadn't seen me yet because of Gladio's large stature and just assumed Reina was standing behind his son.

"Didn't you two say she helped you out in a difficult situation earlier?" Clarus confirmed with Gladio. At Clarus' question Iris launched into the story of the terrorist attack earlier.

"You have my thanks Miss Reina." The moment Clarus said those words I knew it was time for the shit to unravel. That was when Gladio noticed how Clarus couldn't see me because I was hiding behind him, so he moved to a side. I came into full view of Clarus and that made me even more nervous. I gave Clarus a sheepish smile scratching the back of my head.

The warm smile that was visible on the General's face vanished like it was never there. He gave me a questioning look because clearing his throat. Oh boy, was I in for it now.

"And, what might you be doing here Miss Velvet?" he questioned as he approached me, brows arching at my nervous look.

Gladio and Iris looked very confused at their father's words and became silent.

"I….Um… It's complicated sir." I replied avoiding eye contact at all cost. Even without having to look I knew he wasn't convinced. I could see Gladio and Iris staring at me not knowing what to make of the situation.

Being King Regis' shield, Clarus was a very intimidating man and not to mention very powerful. I chanced a glance and saw that his eyes had wondered from my face to my bandaged hand.

"I assume you hurt your hand during training?" He questioned, amusement slightly returning to his voice.

"Like I said, it's complicated sir." I knew whatever I said at this point wasn't going to save me. I just hoped I wasn't in too much trouble.

"Please do take care. Speaking of which, do you know where I might find Miss Reina?" At his father's words Gladio shot me a dirty look and Iris looked a bit shocked. "She was standing right behind my son a minute ago but seems to have gone off somewhere." A smirk played on his lips, he was definitely playing with me.

At the loss of words I just kept my eyes fixated on the ground. Now would be a good time for Captain Drautos to call me to his office for a secret mission briefing or something, anything to get me out of here. Of course that wasn't going to happen.

"About that complication sir." I started, trying to fix the situation hoping I wasn't making it any worse.

"Reina couldn't make it to her patrol duty because of personal reasons, you know girl's stuff…" I trailed off. Rule number one of not being pressed for questions, make the other person feel too awkward to ask. "So I filled in for her sir. Can't have a miss in the schedule now." I finished with one of my cheesiest smiles.

"Velvet." An unyielding voice came. I instantly straightened up again with my hands behind my back and looked forward. Well, guess being a smartass to your superior doesn't do you any good.

The General just sighed face palming.

"Your duty is not a game Miss Velvet, I expect you and Miss Reina to take pride in what you do, be it gate guarding or patrol duty is that clear?" The General probably had more things to worry about than a few Glaives running amuck.

"Precisely why I took pride in filling in for the patrol duty and stopping the terrorist sir. Just doing my job to keep the citizens' of Insomnia safe" I blurted out before I could stop myself. I mentally slapped myself, being nervous tended to make me word vomit, and right now I just wanted to crawl into hole.

I quickly glance over to Gladio and Iris. Their looks of confusion were gone and they didn't look so hurt or angry by my lie either, rather Gladio had a huge smirk plastered on his face while Iris' face was slightly scrunched up trying to hold in her giggles. All at my expense.

Clarus just heaved another sigh. I was probably giving him headaches at this point. He just stood there taping his forehead with his fingers, seemingly to be deep in thought.

"I'll let you slide this once Miss Velvet." I look up at his face shocked and just manage to catch the ungraceful 'huh?' from leaving my mouth. "Of course, under one condition…" he continued.

There always was a catch wasn't there. The words that just left the General's mouth sounded like some part of a badly scripted porn video or something, but I was keeping that thought to myself to avoid trouble and potential awkwardness with Galdio and Iris.

"What would that be sir?" I ask, all the while trying to keep the amusement from my earlier thoughts from showing up on my face. By now I was dying inside but did well to keep a straight face.

"Hm… Have a duel with my son and if you win, Drautos won't hear of what transpired today." I blink hearing the oldest Amicitia's voice. My head snaps to Gladio for an instant and snaps back to face the General. Gladio looked just as shocked at his father's proposal, but his shock quickly changed into a smug grin.

This was unexpected, what could Clarus gain from me fighting Gladio?

"Yo— you mean Gladio sir? I can't possibly hurt your son sir it just wouldn't be right." I stutter in shock.

Iris bursts out laughing at my statement and Gladio just growls in annoyance at my words.

"You, hurting me? Ha!" Gladio scoffed. "Don't get so cocky Miss Glaive, for your information you're half my size." Gladio said walking forward.

I turn to face him and give him a not-so-innocent smile. "Exactly why you would be easier to hit." I retort back.

At our bantering Clarus clears his voice. "Are you two done intimidating each other? If you aren't you two can continue this at the training field." He said pointing towards the direction.

My face turns scarlet, embarrassed at how I just slightly lost control of my filter in front of the General. I just give a small nod and trail behind the Amicitia family.

* * *

The duel was short lived, all but 20 minutes.

Gladio wasn't a bad fighter by any means, in fact he probably was one of the better Crowns Guards in terms of combat. In the end though, it was my experience on the battle field and his inexperience with fighting Glaives that gave me the upper hand. Not to mention his size made it easier for me to hit him, and his large sword was slow enough to dodge.

After he gave a particularly large swing with his great sword I found an opening and warped in front of him. He froze momentarily in shock, and by the time his shock wore off it was too late. I pressed my Kukri blade to his neck calling the end of the match.

Gladio just let out a frustrated growl and put his sword away, then reached up to his face with his hand to wipe the sweat from his forehead. From the corner of the training field both Clarus and Iris clapped, the latter a little too enthusiastically.

"Well done both of you, a splendid battle." Clarus complimented definitely pleased. He didn't sound too surprised at the outcome or he was just good at hiding it. The General just walked over to his son and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"You did well my son, fighting a Glaive is no easy job." It was heartwarming just seeing how he encouraged his son regardless of the outcome. Gladio thanked his father, although he was looking slightly disappointed with the outcome of the battle. I definitely just hurt his pride.

"As for you Miss Velvet, I've heard great things about your talent from Drautos, I just wished to see it with my own eyes. How did he describe you again? Ah yes, small and stealthy. Guess he was right about you." He laughed.

I just stared back in shock slightly taken aback at the mention of Drautos complimenting me. I didn't know what to say back so I kept silent. Gladio chuckled at his father's words, probably because he strongly agreed with my being small and stealthy.

"Well, like I promised I will not be mentioning anything to Drautos, not that I ever planned to anyway." He laughed and turned to walk out the training room. "I have a meeting to attend to, hope you have a great day." With that he just left.

After the door to the training room clicked shut Gladio roared out in laughter, and I just stared back at the door utterly shocked.

Iris walked up to her brother and elbowed him to stop laughing.

"You're so strong Velvet!" she chirped coming up to me. "You know, if you have time can you train me to fight too?" she asked carefully.

I just looked even more shocked at her words and stared, not knowing if she was joking or not. Judging by her expression she wasn't. Gladio's snickering cut off instantly and he gave Iris a stern look.

"No way Iris, if anyone is training you it's going to be me." He said in a firm voice.

Iris smiled slyly at her brother's words "But you always said I should only learn from the best, and you lost to Velvet. So, wouldn't it be better for me to train with her?" she said in a cheeky voice.

It's my turn to laugh now. I hold on to Iris' small shoulder for support.

"Of course I'll train you Iris. You can take over being teacher only when you beat me big guy." I snicker.

A huge smile forms on Gladio's face. "Oh bring it on!"

* * *

 **Haha being ganged up by the Amicitias. I always imagined Clarus to be the fun but stern dad, kind of like my dad. :)**

 **Please feel free to comment or send me suggestions!**

 **Next chapter, making more friends and possibly the start of the Kingsglaive story line if I can fit it in~**


	4. Chapter 3- Our Letters

**A/N: Third Chapters up! I've just been super stressed with my part time job recently which was why this chapter took so long, sorry. But, I did make it a bit longer than my usual chapters :) I also keep wanting to fix certain ideas and plots in the story so I have to constantly return to my previous chapters to make sure it doesn't clash with anything I've said before haha. Well hope you enjoy this chapter.**

 **Disclaimers: All Final Fantasy characters, settings, etc. that appear in this story are the property of Square Enix. My original characters and my imagination are the only things I own.**

* * *

Two months passed since the eventful day with the Amicitias. Clarus kept his word and the captain never found out about the little stunt Reina and I had pulled. Following the encounter with Galdio and Iris I was faced with many eventful weeks nonstop.

First, I was now responsible for training Iris. I wasn't surprised that she was already very skilled with hand-to-hand combat and was also handy with a sword. To be honest she could easily pass the cadet test with a bit of brushing up. Most of our training sessions were held in one of the spare training rooms within the Citadel, or in the backyard of the Amicitia house with Gladio watching us like a hawk. It wasn't like he didn't trust me or anything, rather he didn't trust his little sister to be responsible enough to know her limits.

'Note to self, don't ever think of laying a hand on Iris unless you want to be mauled by a wall of muscle.'

Other than training Iris, I now had occasional run-ins with Prince Noctis Caelum. Naturally this was bound to happen since Gladio was training the Prince and I was now spending a lot of my spare time with Iris and Gladio. Before this all transpired I had only ever seen him once and that was inside the Citadel when I had just become a member of the Glaive, and at that time I didn't even know the scrawny kid was the Prince.

My meeting with the prince went something like this: on the second day of training Iris, the Prince came into the same training room looking for Gladio to let off some steam. Iris and I moved off to the side and let the two men have the floor for a duel. After the sparring session Prince Noctis decided to stay and watch me train Iris all the while talking to his big friend about this game they were both into. Once the training was over Iris took me by the arm and dragged me to the Prince and introduced us with her usual cheer. I had never really been in the presence of royalty before all by myself. Usually I had other members of the Glaive with me and they were always giving me an earful on how to or not to act. Without their help I was totally stumped on how to act, so I did what I thought was considered the appropriate action; I took a sweeping bow and addressed him as 'your royal highness'. The moment those words left my mouth Gladio roared with laughter and the Prince visibly cringed. I just looked between them dumbfounded and a bit shocked.

"Good to know you still think of this scrawny brat as a prince." Gladio roared. That got the Prince to throw jabs at his friend and he threw in a snarky comment about how Gladio got his ass handed down to him by me, leading to the shield playfully head locking the prince and messing up his hair.

That was how my friendship with the Prince started, and now he joined our small training sessions in his free time brining along his advisor Ignis Scientia from time to time. Once when the prince and the advisor came by, the Gladio suggested having a two on two duel just for the fun of it, of course with Iris as a spectator. After that match my muscles were aching for a week. That day ended with a long and interesting drinking session with the gang, and the Prince's best friend Prompt Argentum also came to join, all sunshine and bubbles about how I kicked Gladio's butt in front of Clarus. That earned him a noogie from Gladio. From then on I would be called out to join them in their nightly adventures, and I would happily comply as long as I wasn't on duty or hanging out with my Glaive friends.

Hanging out with them put my mind at ease. I didn't have to think about the war, the fighting or the bloodshed.

When I was with them the times truly felt peaceful.

* * *

Today was the thirds week Tuesday of the month, the day all Glaives were to be present at the HQ for group training and assessment. It was more to make sure we were all in top shape and weren't slacking with our training. After all, what good would a Glaive be if we weren't in any condition to head to war?

Dressed in my Glaive uniform and fully armed I walk out of the locker room and head for the open training ground usually reserved for the Glaives because of our need to practice our warping abilities.

"Hey Vel!" I turn my head to be met with my blonde pixie-cut friend Reina. Next to her Maxim walks in pace with her with his arms around her waist making me jokingly roll my eyes with a small smile. Oh the happy couple.

"Hey." I reply with an earnest smile. Every time I see them I can't help but smile at their joy for each other. "Where's Nyx?" I ask after realizing one of our usual friends missing.

"Oh, he went ahead with Libertus and Pelna. " Maxim replied.

"It's been a month since I've seen Pelna or Libertus. Wonder how they're doing?" I say with genuine curiosity, then my expression turns into a sheepish one. The real reason I haven't seen them or any of the other Glaives in a while was because I was too busy hanging out with my new friends. Reina instantly caught on to my expression and gave a knowing look.

"That's because you've been hanging out with your new friends you traitor. I can't recall the last time I saw you so drunk that you puked or grabbed for Nyx's hair or—" Reina chattered away until I interrupted her by clearing my throat.

"Reina, I can't recall the last time I saw you in the Captain's office for ditching duty. I wonder who it's thanks to?" my eyebrows arched.

"At your service, ma`am." She said pretending to salute me.

Maxim just laughed at us like usually. He gently placed a hand on his girlfriend's head and sweetly ruffled it. "How about tonight then?" He asked while looking down at Reina. Reina's eyes instantly lit up, there was no way I could turn this down.

"I'm all yours tonight." I confirm.

"Okay let's ask everyone after training!" Reina added.

With that we all headed to the training ground so as not to be late.

* * *

The official training regime was conducted by Captain Drautos. We were paired up to spar according to our strengths and weaknesses. Reina being in the magic division, was responsible for support in the rear, so naturally she was paired off with other mages.

"Reina you ready?" I look to see Crowe walking towards Reina with a smile. I envied that Reina could be paired with Crowe, the courageous woman who would never take shit from anyone. Me, being in the frontline meant I was usually assigned with other frontline Glaives, those who had better control over their warping abilities. This naturally meant I was paired with all the reckless guys.

Partner of the day: Luche.

The Glaives were called out in four pairs. The others waited by the sidelines and watched the sparring matches while the Captain walked around assessing our techniques and battling styles to help us improves or point out our openings. But for some reason, the Captain seemed to be on edge today compared to other days during training. Even the perfect Crowe got an earful from Drautos.

My immediate assumption was that something probably didn't go well during today's meeting.

After a while of watching, Luche and I were called out as one of the last pairs to the ground with a few others.

"You ready Luche?" I call out from the opposite side facing him.

"Bring it Princess!" He mocks with his blades drawn and ready. I rolled out my eyes at the nickname, it always got on my nerves and I had to stop myself from yelling 'I'm not a princess' every time someone called me that.

"I bet you won't even be able to hit me." I give a smug smile as I reply. From the corner of my eyes I could see Nyx rolling his eyes at me from the sidelines, mouthing the word 'show-off'.

Our sparring session started. Luche is the first to warp towards me and we lock blades. I know that physically I wouldn't be able to hold off Luche too long because of our difference in strengths and Luche knew it too. So, I quickly throw one of my Kukri blades towards the sky and warp out.

From there on, our training session quickly turns into a game of whack-the-mole. I constantly warp to dodge Luche instead of holding my ground to fight, occasionally throwing spells at him from midair. Luche started becoming increasingly frustrated as he missed hit after hit, which in my opinion was quite entertaining. I toss one push knife into the air again and warp towards it. While hovering in mid-air I take the opportunity to glance at the sky being dyed red by the setting sun before turning my attention to Luche's position once more.

But when I look down to the training ground all I see are dead bodies and a field engulfed in flames.

My eyes go wide and my body goes ridged.

' _Velvet run!_ ' I can hear them in my head. I can see them in their last moments again.

My family.

"VELVET!" an urgent voice rings in my ears this time. But this voice is different, it sounds too real to be just in my head.

"VELVET!" Another voice. But this time I'm able to deduce who it belongs to.

Nyx.

I snap back into reality and realize in my moment of paralysis I had started descending to the ground. I quickly toss the push knife horizontally far across the field, angling it slightly downwards so that it still lodges into the ground but still gives me enough distance to brace for impact after I warp. Unfortunately I was too close to the ground already to land standing up, which meant I landed into a heaping mess on the floor, rolling across the ground on my side to break the impact of what could have been a big fall. Everyone stopped whatever they were doing.

I pant heavily as I feel cold sweat trickling down and starting to soak my back. I shook my head which was now pounding and looked around me to see what had happened.

The bodies, the flames. It had all been an illusion of my memory. I let out a big sigh of relief and sit up and look at the sky again. The red color of the sunset was probably what setoff the vision.

That was when I saw my superior making his way to me. I could already tell he wasn't having any of my shit today. I braced myself for the Captains anger. He promptly grabs me by my upper arm and yanks me to my feet. I try to balance myself on my wobbly feet but the vertigo from the sudden movement has me falling on my knees, jarring it painfully against the hard training ground.

"Get up." He barks angrily.

I push myself off the ground with both my hands and get to my feet. Then I place my hands behind my back and stand up straight. The Captain grabs the front of my shirt and yanks it forward so that I am facing him up close.

"You think this is a game soldier?" I don't answer and just look down.

"Don't make me repeat myself ever again. The ability you borrowed from the King is not a toy do you understand?" I mutter an almost inaudible 'yes sir'.

"Pull yourself together, we are at war. While you are goofing around here Niflheim is taking over nation by nation." Gruffly, he let go of my shirt and turns to rest of the Glaives.

"And this applies to all of you, pull yourselves together!" With that he leave the training room slamming the door behind him without even dismissing the training. Everyone stood there in silence.

I close my eyes and take a deep breath, disappointed in myself more than anything for letting the hallucinations get to me like that.

This wasn't this first time it happened. The very first hallucination I had was when I came back from my first battle two years ago. Usually I was able to ignore the onslaught of images and voices of my dead comrades that haunted me. But, when it was my family it was hard to ignore the anguished cries.

If I were to suddenly get these visions during the actual battle it could get me killed, or someone else in my stead.

"Geez, what's gotten into him?" I snap out of my thoughts as the silence is broken and a hand is gently placed on my shoulder. I turn to see Libertus scrunching his face in distaste at the Captain's sudden outburst of anger.

"You good?" Libertus gives a caring smile and pats me on my head gently. I smile back.

With the silence broken people start to break up into small groups, murmuring to each other about the current situation and the captain's sudden anger.

"Yeah sheesh, it's not like it's the first time someone's failed to warp." Crowe added giving Libertus a look, who rolled his eyes back at her.

No one knew what to make of the situation. Crowe was right, it wasn't the first time this happened. Usually the Captain didn't care much about our screw-ups as long as we weren't badly hurt.

"Maybe he found out about you and Reina ditching duty and got a scolding from the King himself during the meeting?" Nyx joked.

"Don't think so, and hopefully not." Reina visibly shuddered at the thought. Her reaction got me to chuckle a bit, and soon I was feeling relaxed again.

Maxim just laughed at Reina and turned to talk to the group. "Well, since training's out early want to go to our usual place for a drink?"

Everyone chorused in agreement and we all huddled out of the training room.

Right before I was about to exit the said room, Nyx grabbed my shoulder.

"You sure you're okay?" His joking tone from the previous conversation was gone and was now full of concern. He was the only one who knew about my hallucinations, and the only one who knew how debilitating they could really be.

"Yeah, it just caught me off-guard that's all." I give a reassuring smile and we move on.

Our team split up into two groups, the male and the female team. After everyone freshened up the teams respectively headed to the slums. To be honest it was always a bit sketchy walking by that area but that place had the best food and the cheapest drinks. In the end we only managed to get our usually gang to go drinking, consisting of Nyx, Crowe, Libertus, Pelna, Reina, Maxim and me. Everyone else refused claiming they had some business to attend to. It seemed that all the Glaives were really busy these days. Even Luche said he couldn't make it, though he apologized for the training mishap and said he felt bad that I was the victim of Drautos' bad mood.

The three of us girls walked through the streets until our usual place came into view. To no one's surprise the male team had arrived earlier and were all already holding a glass of their favorite drinks.

"Kept us waiting girls!" Libertus called out. The girls all took an open seat.

"You rather us early and smelling sweaty?" Crowe challenged. We all just laughed at her usual sharp tongue.

I ordered a glass of Kahlua Milk, my favorite go to cocktail. When the milky drank arrived I gulped it down savoring the coffee flavor that nursed my bad mood. As I put the glass down an arm plopped on my shoulder.

"Kahlua again? Man up and drink something stronger, it's the weekend tomorrow!" Nyx took a swig of his alcohol.

"Heh, says the man with the beer. Plus I should remind you to add a 'W' and an 'O' in front of the word 'man'." I joked.

It wasn't like I couldn't hold my alcohol, just that I had a training session with Iris tomorrow and some great teacher I would be if I showed up hungover….

.

.

.

Okay I take back what I said about responsible drinking. Maxim and Nyx ordered a round of Tequila shots and if there was one things I hated, it was Tequila. I could never get used to the burning sensation as it coursed down my throat along with how similarly it smelt to hi-potion.

After the first round of shots came the second and by the end of that we were all slightly tipsy except for Crowe and Reina who both refused the second round of shots.

The mix of Tequila and Kalhua was starting to hit me and I was starting to feel giggly and a little giddy.

"Ready for shot round three princess?" Nyx challenged.

The nickname 'princess' seemed to be a running joke amongst the front-line Glaives because I was the only female soldier to be placed in front-line. And I _HATED_ it.

"Stop calling me that, argh— seriously it's not like you guys even treat me like a girl." I said annoyed.

"Hey, what's wrong with calling a princess princ— Argh! Get off!" I had effectively shut up Nyx by grabbing for his hair. I loved playing with it because it seemed to be one of the only things that annoyed him.

Everyone was laughing at us, especially the sight of Nyx trying to pry off a girl half his size from his hair.

From one corner of the table Crowe sighed "Okay Velvet that's enou—"

 _Beep-Beep-Beep—_

 _Bzz—Bzz—_

 _Da-da-da—_

 _Ringgg—_

The laughter stopped. I could feel all the muscles in my body tense at the ringing of our phones. I eyed our table and could visibly see everyone had sobered up, even Nyx.

There was only one reason all of our phones would ring at the same time. Our duty called.

We all respectively reached for our own phones. I unlocked my white phone and saw a text message by the title 'URGENT' waiting for me to open it.

I willed myself to not freak out, it could just be a false alarm. I took a deep breath and moved my index finger towards the notice and touched the screen.

 _[NOTICE]_

 _To All Glaives,_

 _Niflheim activities have been spotted beyond the southern wall of Insomnia. All Glaives are to report to the Citadel in three hours with their letters ready to be turned in. You will be deployed beyond the wall after a mission briefing. By the orders of King Regis Lucis Caelum CXIII_

 _-Captain Drautos_

I just stared down at the text. 'It could be a false alarm' I just kept repeating those words over and over again in my head. But for some reason my gut feelings told me that wasn't the case. Recalling the Captain's emotional outburst during training today only seemed to add on to my suspicion. At the meeting today he was probably told about the possibility of war, which was why he was on edge during training.

I could already feel my hands trembling and soon the trembling became very visible as my phone shook too. My memories started to conjure up memories from all the wars I attended. All of our dead comrades and among them one of my best friends Xantus who I followed around like an older brother. Soon those images started to morph into the blazing street of Kharlan. I closed my eyes and tried to will the images away.

I flinched opening my eyes when I heard a deep sigh from no other than our hero. He ran his fingers through his hair and replaced his phone back into his pocket. Then grabbed his drink and chugged it down in one big gulp. The previous trace of jolliness was all gone, without doubt Nyx was going through hell in his mind too.

"You heard the orders." Nyx grabbed for his jacket and pushed himself off the stool with his hands and turned to walk out. Shortly everyone followed his example and stood up and left. Only Reina, Maxim and I were left in silence.

Maxim seemed to be at a loss of words at the mail. For him this battle was his first because he had only joined the Glaives recently. I'm sure all sorts of thoughts were running through his mind.

The silence was cut off with small gasps and sobs. I turned to my left to see Reina who started breaking down into tears and could hear her mumbling Xantus' name. Xantus was a big brother to us when we first arrived in Insomnia and he died on the field protecting Reina, who had broken formation to save a child who was unfortunately there at the time of the battle. He died with honor doing what he believed was right until his last dying breath. Of course Reina was also faced with punishment. She was demoted from being a palace guard to going in between more minor tasks like a station guard and patrol duties, which were usually assigned to cadets or patrol police. She took her relegation with a smile, claiming it was a small price to pay for what had happened. But I knew that behind her cheery smile she always blamed herself for Xantus' death.

I walked over to the all blonde and embraced her. No words could ever make up for the loss our dear friend and family member. For Reina, who mostly stayed in the rear of the battle, she was constantly plagued by the thought of losing her friends who were out in the front facing tremendous danger.

I hugged her as she mourned for all the comrades we lost in the two years we've been here and for the comrades we would lose with the upcoming fight.

* * *

Reina had wept in my arms for a good hour. I sent Maxim home not wanting him to crumble under the emotional pressure too, he also probably needed time to sort his emotions out and get himself together.

I returned home after walking Reina back home. By the time we reached her house she had considerably calmed down even managing to pull a smile a few times, although it was all just a show she put on to reassure me. She said she would be okay but I knew deep down she was dreading the upcoming battle, maybe even regretting that she joined the Glaives. To be honest her big heart was not suited for the job of a soldier.

I sighed and sat at my desk running my fingers through my hair. Just recalling Reina's break down reminded me of how close I was to having one on my own. The death of my family and the wars have left me mentally scarred, the moment I started recalling bad memories it could all spiral into what felt like bottomless pit of negativity. I thought I had gotten better over the years but today's training incident and the text regarding the battle confirmed for me that I was far from over it.

I heaved another sigh.

I had to stay focused… I had to stay strong, at least for my friends' sakes.

I turned my focus to the clock on my table. An hour and thirty minute left until I have to report to the HQ. I reached down into a drawer and pulled out a few lined papers. It was time I wrote the letter.

All the Glaives call it 'the letter' but it was essentially our will we wanted to pass on to our loved one if we were to die on the field. All Glaives were required to write it when we headed to big battles like the upcoming one and hand it to the Captain before the mission briefing. It was possible to write it to more than one person, though most Glaives didn't. Most of us didn't have families left so we didn't really have anyone to write to other than our fellow members.

After coming home from the war that took Xantus' life I received his letter, and it was one of the shittiest feelings in the world. The weight of responsibility, the knowledge of what they were thinking before the war and the thoughts of death were always very emotionally raw that it hurt. After that I told myself that I would never write it to a fellow Glaive, I didn't want to burden them with my last words.

I tilted my head back to stared at my mold blotched ceiling. I really didn't have anyone to write to. Another sigh and I pick up my pen and scribble the word that come into mind.

* * *

With the letter grasped in my hand I solemnly walked towards our meeting point. The streets are buzzing with people and the night sky was clear of even the smallest cloud. I was sure I would miss this sight while out fighting, after all the battle field was always clouded with dust and smelt of burning flesh.

Seeing the people walking past me clicked something in my head. I had forgotten to tell Iris. There was a big chance she already knew about my deployment since her father was probably at the meeting. But still I guess it was best to tell her myself. I stood there juggling the thought of dropping by her place to tell her directly, but then I realized I probably didn't have the guts to see her worried face. That only left one option.

I reached into my pocket for my phone and searched for her name and tapped on it. I could hear the phone ringing as it sent the call, I patiently waited for her to pick up. One ring, two rings, three rings, four rings…

Hi it's Iris here, I can't pick up at the moment but please feel free to leave a message and I'll get back to you ASAP! -Beep-

Great… She isn't picking up, guess I'll have to leave a message.

"Hey, it's me Velvet. Um… I don't know if you've heard from your father but I won't be able to help you train for a while because of my deployment. Doesn't mean you can slack off though okay? Have Gladio help you out with our usual training routine while I'm gone. I'll know if you've been slacking off alright? I'll call you when I get back. See you."

I hung up.

Guess that will have to do. There really wasn't much I could say to her since I didn't know when I would be returning or if I would be returning at all. Letting out a big sigh I continued my way to the HQ.

* * *

"Has everyone handed in their letters?" the Captain paced around the room scanning all the Glaives standing to attention.

"SIR, YES SIR!"

All of us were accounted for, all geared up and ready for deployment. The room fell silent after our answer as the Captain eyed us one by one before stopping in the middle of the room.

"Niflheim troops have been spotted in the southern outskirts of the wall. Our mission is to drive them away and make sure they don't get past the canyons near the outpost. Is that clear?" The Captain reiterated our mission

"SIR, YES SIR!"

He looked into our eyes, some filled with fear others filled with determination. His eyes, for a moment rested on me, before wandering to my fellow members. "Not all of you will make it back, but I plan on doing everything in my power to make sure most of you will! Now, FOR HEARTH AND HOME!"

"FOR HEARTH AND HOME!" Everyone chanted.

Even through the chant all I could think of was one thing…

'How many of us would make it back?'

* * *

 **Finally entered the Kings Glaive plot! I guess the plot pace will be a bit faster from here on.**

 **Next chapter: hopefully I don't end up in two pieces...**


	5. Chapter 4- For Heart and Home

**A/N: Fourth Chapter and finally entered the Kings Glaive movie plot! My life isn't the best at the moment with me still searching for a decent job to satisfy my parents and not knowing what I want to do with my life. I've just kinda been rambling my emotions into my fic a bit so if the story seems a bit gloomy I'm sorry.  
**

 **Disclaimers: All Final Fantasy characters, settings, etc. that appear in this story are the property of Square Enix. My original characters and my imagination are the only things I own.**

* * *

"All units move to secure the wall, if they break through we're done!"

I quickly cut down another monster as I listen in on the transmission being relayed to all the Glaives. Sweat trickles down my back, and I pull down the red scarf covering my face to catch my breath before taking on another monster making its run towards me.

I catch a glimpse of Maxim across the field unleashing thundara at one of the larger creatures.

Everything is utter chaos.

I lost track of Nyx and Libertus not long after they ran towards the font of the battle field to take on the Nif soldiers.

"What's the holdup Crowe?!" I instantly recognize it as Libertus' voice and breathe a sigh of relief knowing that he is alive, though the sounds of gunfire in the background is a little unnerving.

"Crowe status?" Another voice joins in.

"Almost there!" The female magician's voice sounds strained possibly due to her concentrating on the dark clouds that were forming in the sky threatening to engulf us.

I chance a look up into the sky. I can see lightening crashing between the clouds. Along with the setting sun it looked like a fire pillar was about to rain down on us.

I'm brought to attention by the next transmission. "East wall is going dow—"

'Shit' I see a behemoth running towards me and miss the rest of the order. I quickly warp into the sky to avoid being run over by the massive monster and land on its head in a deadly strike, instantly impaling the head.

The monster topples over forward not giving me enough time to remove my blade from the monster and warp away and I get launched forward in a heaping mess on the floor. I try to push myself off the ground to get back on my feet but crumble on the floor clutching my shoulder. The impact of the fall has knocked more than just the wind out of me, my shoulder was in extreme pain.

"Vel!" Someone grabs me by the arm and tries to pull me up. I let out a blood curling scream in pain, my vision blurring with black dots in excruciating pain. I try to breathe through my teeth hoping to mute anymore unwanted attention.

I look to see its Maxim by my side steadying me with one hand and conjuring up a barrier with the other facing me. His face is in utter shock at my pain.

I quickly catch my breath and steady myself though I'm still a little shaky and covered in sweat. "I'll be fine." I answer before he can ask. I cradle the arm of the injured shoulder close to my chest hoping to ease the pain by moving it around less.

Maxim gives me an unsure nod before letting go, allowing me steady myself and I grab my Kukri blade that flew out of my grasp during the fall.

I look up at the sky to check the progress of the clouds, only to see a fire pillar slowly making its way down onto the field. Next to me Maxim stared in awe. That is… Until he saw it start to suck up everything near it including our own comrades. Luckily both Maxim and I were far away enough to not be sucked up into the inferno but that didn't make it any less menacing.

"All Glaives fall back, I repeat all Glaives fall back."

As soon as the order falls, I grab Maxim by the hand and proceed to drag him back until he is paying attention enough to actually start running with me.

Soon Nyx and Libertus come into view and we quickly jog the rest of the way to join them and the rest of our members now catching their breath near the east wall. Nyx spots us and makes a small wave with his hands to ensure us that both of them are okay. I just smile in relief that my friends remain safe.

With the end of the battle nearing, I find the time to check my injury. The pain in my shoulder was nothing more than a dulled down throb from all the adrenaline in my system, but I was sure the pain would hit me full force later once everything has calmed down. I pull up my sleeve to see to check my arm only to see it clean. Which meant the problem was actually on my torso. I unbutton my upper part of the Glaive jacket and the vest and push the t-shirt I'm wearing inside to one side to check the damage.

The whole upper right side of my body was turning black and blue. I could also see a visible bump on my collar bone which definitely told me more than enough.

Out of everything I had fractured my collar bone.

An ear piercing screech reaches my ear. Everyone including me turns to face the source of the sound. Everyone stands frozen, not sure what to make of the situation.

A few Nif airships flying above are headed towards the wall, dragging along with them a sand storm.

Anyone that was on the floor taking a breather gets up, and all Glaives face the storm in high alert. I straighten my outfit again and grab the red scarf that was covering my face from the sand and dust, and proceed to make a makeshift arm sling for myself to reduce the movement of my arm.

All the while my mind in plagued with questions. Something just didn't seem right. How was it possible to physically wire and drag a sand storm across the field? Not to mention the Nifs couldn't even use magic to begin with so conjuring one up was out of the question.

The ear piercing screech turns into a deafening roar and the airships that were dragging the storm are flung to the ground like a pieces of twigs.

At the shocking sight we all take a step back and all grab for our weapons.

That's when the sand seems to dissipate and reveal the true form of the storm… A Daemon.

The sheer size of the monster is huge, making up look like ants in comparison. It easily picked off anything on the battleground not caring whether it was friend of foe. It was clear to see that the Nif has no control over this monster.

The fire pillar that was summoned by our magicians makes its way towards the Daemon but is quickly put out by the sand storm emitted by the Daemon. _Of course, this wouldn't end that easily….._

Without the fire pillar, the sky goes dark and night falls upon us. The Glaives who are a good distance away from the monster stand and watch the monster, either waiting for orders or seeing what the ginormous thing would do next.

But, at the moment it seemed to be too preoccupied picking off the remaining Nifs that were on the floor near it.

Then another deafening roar, and the pitch black sky is soon lit up by red lights. I watch in horror as balls of fire start shooting out from the Daemons back and on to my fellow comrades who weren't fast enough to dodge. Boulders start falling from parts of the wall crushing anyone standing below, people go up in flames as the monsters attack spreads across the field. All hell breaks loose.

Soon our orders come. It's Drautos.

"We can't take care of that Daemon, I'm ordering a full retreat. Get back here alive, that's an order. For Hearth and home!" with that the transmission falls silent.

Everyone starts making a break for it and this time it's me being dragged by Maxim towards the extraction point. We break out into a full run, splitting up from the rest of our friends in the chaos.

" _Buzz-_ All unit– bac— extraction poi— supp— inbound." I can barely make out the next transmission through the screaming and yelling. I frantically look from side to side while running to see if Nyx and Libertus are anywhere nearby.

"Nyx!" I see Crowe screaming for her friend behind the wall being dragged back by another Glaive. My eyes go round in anticipation and I quickly look in the direction she is facing.

A flash of blue in the air is headed back towards the battle field, a visible blue scarf can be seen fluttering in the air trailing behind.

"No, Nyx!" I yell and try to turn back, only to be grabbed by Maxim and stopped.

"Velvet, we have orders! We have to get back!" With that Maxim takes me by my good arm and pulls me. I reluctantly follow, keeping my eyes on the hero's disappearing figure in the distance.

* * *

The Nifs have retreated.

They won yet they still pulled back with no reason or explanations. They even took the Daemon with them. No one really knew why... We definitely didn't win the battle, and we were sure the Nifs were not about to give up the war.

The Glaives who managed to make it to the extraction point were rushed to the medics where we were treated for our wounds to the best of their abilities and what meager equipment they had, though many of the wounded received damage beyond repair. We lost a quarter of our forces to the week long battle. We were left exhausted both mentally and physically.

The Glaives all sat in silence, grieving for our lost friends.

I sat on the edge of the hill near the extraction point facing the place that was once our battle field. Now the ground was silent with only the burnt corpses of allies and foes remaining, the stench of blood could be smelt all the way back here. The pain from my earlier injury was starting to surface but my mine was too preoccupied to care. I was still waiting for someone... Two people to be precise.

I was waiting for Nyx and Libertus.

Nyx had yet to return after he sprinted off like that into the darkness. I realized that Libertus was missing too, allowing me to deduce that the hero probably went to retrieve the friend, dead or not.

I constantly stared at the landscape looking for any movement, any sign of life. Of course, it was silent.

"Vel..." A saddened voice approaches behind me. It's Reina.

Reina was mostly fine, since she was in the rear of the battle she sustained no injuries just exhausted from the constant magic usage.

I look up and give her the meager smile I can manage, inviting her to sit next to me. She silently took her seat.

"Um... How's your... bone?" She asked a little unsure on how to break the silent. It was really sweet how she was trying to take my mind off the worries that filled my head.

"It's okay. It's just fractured and the medics patched it up right away so I should be able to use it in about two weeks or so." I was lucky to get away with just a fracture, and my quick thinking of using 'my scarf' as an arm sling really helped protect it from further injury... Xantus' scarf to be precise...

Then my mind reals back to the moment I broke my arms and how close I was to death.

A small chuckle leaves my lips. Drautos had been right, my overconfidence in my warping skill was what almost got me killed.

To be honest if Maxim hadn't come to my aid and protected me until I was able to gather my baring I would be dead, I owed him one.

I clutch on to the scarf that is now wrapped around my neck again and bury my face into it letting out a silent sigh. It was no use talking to Reina, all I could think about was Nyx and Libertus' wellbeing, and with Xantus' memento around my neck the feeling of dread was getting worse. I want to bang my head on the floor for being so useless at times like this.

 _'Why those idiots! If they come back alive I'm going to kill them myself.'_ I scowl, just thinking about those two right now threw me into an emotional roller coaster.

"Vel... You look scary..." Reina commented, and I realized my emotions were showing up on my face.

I try to soften my expression. "Sorry... I was just about those idiots—"

"Who you calling an idiot?" That voice made me whip my head around so quickly that I almost fell down sideways from the momentum.

And there he was...

The idiot.

The hero.

The person I considered family.

"Nyx!" Reina instantly stood up and ran to him and proceeded to pull him into a big hug.

I just sat there, still looking and doubting my eyes. Once I was able to make sure this was real all my emotions started to surface and the tears I had been holding back started to make its way into my eyes.

And the waterworks began.

"YOU IDIOT! How dare you do this to me! I thought you were dead!" I yell getting up and making my way towards Nyx who was currently stuck in a middle of a hug. I would have punched him in the face if only I wasn't injured.

I was a sobbing mess. I was crying, I was angry I was relieved and everything was coming out in form of watery tears.

"Wow, wow, wow didn't think you'd miss me that much princess, stop crying will you?" He joked lightening up the mood and prying off Reina at the same time.

I burry my face into his chest to hid my tears. "Idiot... Is Libertus...?" I whisper with fear in my voice.

"Now he is the real idiot heh. He's fine, his leg got caught under a large boulder but still as loud mouthed and kick'n as ever." He reassures.

"Thank the six..." Reina sighs in relief.

Really... Thank the six we're alive... All my friends are alive... Thank you...

Libertus was rushed to the medics in a stretcher, I took a moment to make sure he was okay and he seemed to be well apart from his leg. On one side of the camp Nyx sat solemnly listening to the captains words, probably getting an earful for disobeying direct orders.

Once the remaining survivors were all accounted for we all filed into the cars waiting for us at the extraction point. It was going to be a long ride from here to Insomnia.

I was in the same car as Crowe, Nyx and Luche. And though we were all really close and good friends, this battle has left us too much to think about.

We rode all the way to Insomnia in silence, quietly grieving for our lost allies in our hearts.

* * *

The car came to a halt, jolting me awake. I turn around to look out the car window and see the gate to Insomnia opening. I didn't even realize I had fallen dozed off but wasn't surprised, I was on the battle up until just a few hours ago. And now that I had a small nap and some time to calm down the pain from the fracture was starting to really become noticeable. The medics had mended the bones together but using cure spells didn't instantly heal wound and only sped up the process. I scrunched my face up as I tried to bit down the moan of pain that was about to leave my lips with the small movements I was making.

The city lights came into view. I I attempted to redirect my attention to outside the window. It was hard to believe that just a few hours ago we were out fighting for our lives. Everything looked so peaceful here.

'Were these people even aware of the war that was raging outside?'

Anger started to well up at their ignorance. I lost so many of my friends and these people carried on with their lives like nothing happened. But, I couldn't blame them since they always had the wall protecting them for years, they were completely oblivious to the dangers outside.

I look back into the car to see how the rest of my teammates are doing. Crowe, who was sitting next to me seemed to be deep in thought. Luche on the other hand seemed to have gotten fed up with the endless thinking and was now laying on his back with his arms draped over his face, sound asleep. Nyx was staring out the window. His eyes were focused on the buildings passing by. I could tell he was having the same thoughts as I was.

 _Were these people eve aware of the war that was raging on outside?_

I'm sure we weren't the only ones thinking it.

I continued to stare out the window for a few more minutes trying my best to distract myself and soon the car came to a complete stop. The van door slid open and the guards and medical staff who were on duty rush the injured out of the van and to the infirmary. Crowe supports me and helps me balance myself as I step out of the car with my arm in a sling.

"Those of you who can stand come to the briefing room." Drautos announced once everyone was out of the cars and walked off. No one answered him but followed suit.

One of the guards come to take me to the medical wing to get my arm checked but I just tell him I will go later after the meeting since I fall under the 'can stand' category.

I drag my exhausted body and follow the rest of my fellow Glaives who weren't as badly injured to the briefing room.

Inside we all stood in a line standing to attention. Though for me since one arm was in a sling I only had one arm behind me and my body slouched from the pain.

Drautos looked at us standing. He seemed to take in each and every one of our faces before letting out a sigh.

"Well done all of you for fighting out there so bravely. Though we have lost many of our comrades their deaths will not be in vain. Niflheim has retreated and peace has been once again restored to Insomnia. I'm sure many of you have a lot to think about after this battle, go home and rest and heal up. I will be seeing you in our next group training. Dismissed!" With that he walked out of the door leaving us to do as we please.

I was sure the Captain was pretty exhausted too, both mentally and physically. He probably didn't want to lecture us for too long which is why he left in a curt fashion.

The Glaives all started to break up into small groups and chat amongst themselves. Congratulating each other, hugging each other, thanking each other for being alive. I slump my body further to a more comfortable position and I just stand their staring at the open space. My head was starting to throb and the pain in my upper body was starting to send waves throughout the rest of my body. Now that I was sure I was back in a safe place my body was starting to relax and all of the week's exhaustion was starting to hit me.

A hand lightly tapped me on my shoulder jolting me forward a bit. It was Crowe.

"Hey Velvet, you might want to get a check up at the infirmary… You okay?" Crowe was looking at me, face full of concern. That caught Reina and Maxim's attention and they instantly made their way towards me.

"Yeah, I'll head now. I'm just a little tired I guess, I should get some rest." I say turning my face to Reina and Maxim to also reassure them I'm fine. But even that small movement was enough to make me wobble and sway making me grit my teeth as more pain coursed through my body.

"Wow, you are _NOT_ okay. You're really pale." Crowe said holding my arm to keep me from falling.

"I said m'kay." My words slur a bit because of the effort it takes to get the words out of my mouth. Soon just keeping awake seems impossible.

 _Wait, why is everyone looking_ _so tall_ _, when did I get down on my knees?_

I look around the room and see Reina kneeling down next to me. She opens her mouth and seems to say something but I can't hear. And soon it becomes too hard to stay awake.

"I think Imma take a nap..." I barely manage a whisper and I let the darkness engulf me.

* * *

 **Yay! We have entered the movie finally~ Going to try and get right into the play ASAP but with my writing speed I feel like it's going to take a while. I've actually broken my collar bone before, though it was because I bashed into a soccer goal post playing Frisbee with the guys, but I have a lot of experience when it comes to breaking bones :P  
**

 **Next chapter: Bye~ Have fun at your wedding! Wait what are you doing here?**


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